Angel Trouble
by babyphd
Summary: Trouble on Air Force One on a transPacific flight.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Angel Trouble

Characters: Jed, Abbey, CJ, Toby, Ron, others

Category: Drama/Angst

Rating: G

Disclaimer: I don't own the WW characters. Sorkin, Wells and NBC do. I'm just having some fun.

Spoiler: "Angel Maintenance"

Summary: Trouble on Air Force One on a trans-Pacific flight

Chapter 1

The President and First Lady climbed the stairs to Air Force One, exhausted from the two-week visit to the Pacific. Waving to the crowd, they quickly disappeared into the body of the aircraft. Abbey immediately went to their bedroom while Jed got a quick phone briefing from Leo before retiring for the night.

Official visits in Japan, Thailand, and Australia had taken its toll on the entire traveling party and the thought of a twenty hour flight and ten time zones back to Washington was not a pleasant one. But at least they were traveling aboard a flying palace. Nothing else would do for the Leader of the Free World.

The current Air Force One was built by Boeing aircraft and delivered to President Bush toward the end of his Presidency in 1990. So the plane was barely ten years old. Not at all old for a plane that only flies when the President or his designee travels.

Maintenance is much stricter than any commercial aircraft. It's maintained every day, whether scheduled to fly or not. Every 154 days, the plane is taken completely apart and reassembled. Twenty-four hours prior to wheels-up, the fuel is sealed in a tank truck and guarded by sharpshooters. One hour before wheels-up, Air Force specialists drain off a gallon and analyze it for purity and the right levels of octane and water. The wiring is shielded to protect it from a thermonuclear blast: To sabotage the plane requires getting by forty-eight armed members of the Airlift Security Unit or joining the maintenance crew, which takes twelve years following a two-year background check.

So everyone on board had the utmost confidence in the hand-picked crew and the aircraft itself to deliver the President and everybody else on board safely to whatever their destination.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Want a glass of wine?" The President and First Lady were relaxing. It had been only an hour since take-off, and both were totally exhausted.

"Sure. White, please."

While Jed was pouring Abbey some wine and fixing him a scotch, he realized that the last meal they had eaten was over six hours ago. "I'm hungry. Want a sandwich?"

"Nope. I just want to take a shower and go to bed. I think I'll sleep most of the trip. What about you?"

"I'm tired. But hungry as well. Why don't you get changed and I'll be back shortly. I'll have the steward fix me a quick ham sandwich."

"Don't stay away too long. I don't think I can stay up very much longer."

"I understand completely. This was such a successful trip that I'm still kind of pumped but exhausted at the same time. I'll probably crash shortly myself. We accomplished so much on this trip. And your presence meant a great deal. "

Abbey got up and started stripping off her designer suit. All she wanted was some fuzzy pajamas and crisp sheets. Jed could stay up as long as he wanted to. Tonight, she wasn't going to wait for him.

"Thanks. I felt good about this trip too. But I'm so tired." She walked over to where Jed was standing and hugged her husband. Leaning up to give him a kiss, she continued, "Good night, Jed. I'll probably be asleep when you get back. Don't get too tired."

"You know I won't." Jed kissed her goodnight and left the bedroom. He went to look for a steward and that ham sandwich.

"Yeah, right." Abbey just shook her head and headed toward the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"CJ, Toby, want to play some poker?" Jed had ordered his sandwich and decided that he wasn't going to bed right away.

Both groaned. They had hoped that the President would stay busy and let them rest. CJ had been on the go for two weeks with barely four hours sleep a night. She was hoping for at least ten uninterrupted hours of sleep on the return flight.

Toby as well was dreading the long return flight, but for different reasons. It had been long enough on the trip over to Tokyo, but at least he was kept busy with revising the many Presidential speeches that had to be presented at various stops. But now, there was nothing to keep him busy.

Toby responded first. "Sure, Mr. President, I'll take your money."

Jed smiled. He just knew this time he would have the better cards.

CJ groaned but agreed. "Just a quick game, okay? I'm beat and was looking forward to some sleep."

"Great. Come on over to the office and let's get real. Who's dealing?"

Three hours later, CJ was nodding between hands.

"Your deal, CJ."

"Huh?"

Jed smiled. "CJ, if you want to go to bed, go ahead. Besides, I've already taken your money." CJ's total exhaustion had been used to the President's advantage. His monetary advantage.

CJ threw her cards on the table and stood up. "Thanks, Mr. President. I think I'll do just that. See you in the morning. Good night, Sir. You too, Toby."

Turning his attention to Toby, Jed smiled. "It's no fun without suckers. Do you want to continue playing?"

"Sir, I really would like to follow CJ to bed, if you don't mind?"

Jed laughed. "Okay, Toby. I think its time for me to find my own bed as well. Good night."

"Good night, sir."

Soon the whole aircraft was quiet as the internal lights dimmed and everyone tried to get some sleep.

And the pilots kept the plane smoothly chasing the rising sun.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jed reached out to stroke Abbey's soft back. His body was reacting to her moans of pleasure. He laughed. "You know what you sound like, don't you?"

Abbey responded by playfully slapping her husband and then leaned in for a kiss that knew no boundary.

'I'm in heaven,' Jed thought. 'But why is that damn alarm clock going off? Is it time to get up already?'

"WAHHH" "WAHHH"

The Claxton horns disturbed even the soundest sleeper as oxygen masks dropped down from the overhead compartments and those wide enough awake to understand, grabbed one, and placed it over their face without question. Then they looked around and made sure their seat mate had one as well.

But in the Presidential bedroom, the exhausted First Couple slept through the noise. The sound was muffled so they were unaware of the danger facing the occupants of the plane.

Pushing through the door, Ron and two other agents quickly reached the two sleeping occupants and rolled them over on their backs. Jed and Abbey were abruptly awakened as the agents forced oxygen masks on their faces.

Startled at the rude awakening, Jed tried to yell, "Hey!" But whatever he was trying to say was muffled by the mask over his face. He looked over at Abbey, whose eyes were full of fright and questions. She mirrored his emotions.

Jed tried to remove the mask, but Ron quickly and urgently replaced it. Jed heard him say something, but it too was muffled under his mask.

Eventually his heart slowed down and regained its normal beat. He gave up trying to know what was happening. He would be told something as soon as it was possible. It obviously had something to do with decompression of some kind as he felt the big 747 finally level off in what had been a fairly rapid descent.

Ron placed his hand on his earpiece and then removed his own mask. He then nodded to the President and First Lady that it was safe to remove theirs.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance, Mr. President. Something occurred which caused some decompression alarms to go off. I knew you both were asleep and wouldn't hear the alarm. We didn't really have a choice."

"I understand, Ron. That's okay. What's the problem?" Jed sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"Haven't found that out, sir. But now that the crisis has passed, I'll go to the Flight Deck and report back as soon as I know."

As Ron and the agents left, Abbey turned to her husband. "Jed, what's wrong? Is this something major?"

"You know as much I do. Maybe we should put some jeans on. It doesn't look like we're going to get much sleep. And that's too bad. I was having a hell of a nice dream."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Any chance of a full night's sleep had just dissipated.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jed, Abbey, CJ and Toby, were sitting in the office, sipping coffee. The entire plane was awake and trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Mr. President, this Colonel Hargrove, senior pilot. He will explain what is going on."

"Thanks, Ron. Colonel, that was a rude awakening."

"Sorry for that, Mr. President. We had some loss of cabin pressure and the alarms are automatic when it depicts the drop."

"What caused the alarms to be activated? You know that there was a false alarm with the landing gear only a month ago. Could this have been a false alarm?"

"Sir, we're looking into that. But we're making plans to land at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii as a precaution. We're about seven hours out now. We'll get everybody off and transfer you to another plane. The twin of this plane is already in the air, heading to Hawaii to pick you up. However, it'll be about eight or nine hours before that plane will arrive. But you shouldn't have to wait there very long."

Looking at the pilot, Jed sensed there was something else. "Colonel, is there anything else you should tell me?"

Colonel Hargrove looked at his Commander-in-Chief, then at Ron. Then he turned back to the President. "Shortly after we experienced the decompression, our instruments noted a drop in power in the engines. We're investigating that right now. And…"

"Just say it, Colonel."

"With decreased engine power, we can't fly around any weather. So in about fifteen minutes we should hit Tropical Cyclone Aku. Because of our current altitude of 17,000 feet, it'll get rough. The navigator has tried to find a way around it, but given our current circumstances, we don't have enough extra power to do so. So we'll have to fly directly through it."

Jed looked at Abbey and his staff. Then he turned back to the senior Air Force pilot.

"Any more good news?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, sir."

"Thanks Colonel, for the information. I'm sure the next few hours will be fun."

Jed's attempt at humor fell flat.

"Yes, sir."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jed placed a call to Leo to update him. It was five am in Washington, but Jed doubted that Leo would be asleep. By now, he would probably know as much as the people on the plane.

"Did I wake you, Leo?"

"No. sir. I'm on my way back to the White House. I got a call from Nancy about your situation and I'm going back to see what I can do from this end. You know a back-up plane is on its way to Hawaii?"

"Yeah. Colonel Hargrove has already told me."

"Well, you should have some F-18s from a nearby carrier group on each of your wings soon. This is strictly a precaution but with the engines not running at full power, we thought it would be best to have some chase planes surrounding you."

"Thanks for the good news, Leo. I appreciate it."

"Yeah. Thought you would."

Jed could picture Leo's crooked smile as he laughed. The Presidential humor was finally beginning to have an effect on somebody.

"Well, we're also facing a bumpy ride. The crew is putting everything away so there won't be any flying debris. Is there any public information out yet on the problem with Air Force One?"

"Nothing yet. But you know that won't last long."

"Yeah. I need for you to do Abbey and me a favor. Will you call the girls and tell them not to worry? We would from here, but the crew has just motioned for everyone to buckle up. I guess I need to go."

"Good luck, sir."

"Thanks, Leo. I hope we finally have some. Bye."

"Goodbye, Mr. President."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Colonel had been right about the roughness. The big plane usually handled storms as a minor annoyance, but this was not the usual storm.

Winds were clocked at 120 miles per hour on the ground which meant the plane was trying to fly through headwinds 150 to 175 miles an hour. And it strained the engines, already operating at half power.

On board, the rolling and sudden dips of the plane were playing havoc with the stomachs of the occupants. Air sickness bags were the hot commodity as many of the passengers wished they had not eaten supper after they had boarded the plane.

In the Presidential office, Jed, Abbey, CJ, and Toby were not much better off. It hadn't taken long before the coffee made its first appearance in the air sickness bags. Then those who had eaten supper after take-off wished they hadn't. That select group included Toby and Jed. If Abbey hadn't been so green herself, she might have tried to help them. But she had all she could do just to manage her own stomach.

Regardless of the seat belts, the plane's occupants were twisted and pulled as the plane continued its gymnastics. The President was belted into his office chair while the three other occupants were restrained on the two sofas.

"Jed, are you doing okay?" Abbey finally got some words out between rolls and dips.

"Not really." Some more contents of his earlier snack made themselves visible.

Abbey decided at that point to release her seatbelt and try to get to her husband. If she could get her black bag, which was stowed behind him, then maybe she could do something about his nausea.

"Jed, I'm going to give you something for this motion sickness."

"Don't move, Abbey. It's way too rough." But Jed knew that she wouldn't listen.

She stood as the plane rolled sharply this time. The force of the roll made her fling her arms in the air and she hit the carpeted floor with a WHOMP! just as the lights went out.

Jed could see her on the floor, her body twisted by the fall. But the pale lights provided by the emergency generators didn't allow a distinct image of any injuries.

"Abbey! Are you okay?"

There was no sound or motion from the body lying passively on the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Abbey!"

Jed panicked. He released his seat belt even as Toby and CJ both said, "NO!"

Ignoring his staff and his own safety, he got up. This was a personal mission. A mission to see how badly his wife had been hurt in the fall.

The plane continued its unexpected rolling and dipping so Jed's body was never stationery, even when he was standing. This awkwardness caused his body to be thrown forward and then sideways. As he fell, he felt the pain as his head fell against the sharp edge of the desk. He lost consciousness as he joined Abbey in a pile of bodies on the floor.

As the lights came back on, CJ and Toby decided on their next course of action. They released their seatbelts, and pushed themselves downward, their only goal to reach the President and First Lady, lying unconscious on the floor before them.

"Toby, check the President. I'll try to reach Abbey."

In spite of the rolls and dips, they finally reached the First Couple.

Almost simultaneously, each checked their respective charge's neck and was relieved to find a pulse.

"Alive. And Abbey?"

"Yeah."

Toby pulled the President's unconscious body off to the side and tried to stop the stream of blood coming from the side of Jed's head. His white handkerchief turned crimson red as he pressed down on the scalp wound, trying to at least slow down the bleeding.

CJ straightened Abbey's limbs out and rolled her over even as moans were heard coming from her throat.

"Abbey, its okay. Wake up. You fell, but I don't see any injuries." The First Lady continued to moan, but made an effort to open her eyes. Gradually, her green eyes opened to CJ's face, bending over her with a worried expression.

"CJ? What happened?" Abbey tried to sit up, but CJ gently pushed her back down. Until she could be checked by someone with more training, Abbey needed to be kept still.

"I think you got the wind knocked out of you during one of the most exciting rides I've ever been on."

Abbey gave a small smile. The she realized she hadn't heard from her ever protective husband. "Jed? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"He hit his head, Mrs. Bartlet. Toby is seeing to him now."

"What!" as she tried to sit up again.

CJ instantly pushed her back to the floor. "No ma'am. Please stay down. You may have some internal injuries and you need to be seen by someone with more training than first aid skills courtesy of the Girl Scouts."

As much as Abbey wanted to see about Jed, she knew CJ was telling the truth. If she moved with internal injuries, it would not help the situation at all.

Surely help would arrive soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As soon as the plane leveled out, Ron knocked on the office door.

Getting no response, he slowly pushed open the door to see four people sprawled on the floor. The two upright people seemed to be giving some kind of first aid to the other two. A longer glance brought his worst fears to the surface.

The two people down were the President and the First Lady.

As he moved quickly to get more information, he yelled into his wrist mike for additional assistance. "Eagle and Regina down. I repeat, Eagle and Regina down. Code blue!"

First bending by CJ, he quickly noted that the First Lady was conscious and talking.

"Mrs. Bartlet, are you hurt?"

"No. I think I just got the wind knocked out of me. See about Jed."

Ron moved immediately to assess the condition of the President. As Toby moved, Ron realized that the President had suffered at the very least a deep scalp wound from which blood was streaming. He did not appear to be conscious, but no other obvious wound was evident on the rapid assessment.

Other agents quickly materialized, along with the Flight Surgeon. "Get me two stretchers and set up the medical room. NOW!"

Dr. Bishop had been assigned to several flights of Air Force One and the President had specifically requested him for this particular assignment. The President had teased him on a previous flight about his graduation from Dartmouth and how could he had given up the beautiful New Hampshire mountains for the Air Force. They had joked about it, and Dr. Bishop had won the argument by saying he planned to retire there in a couple of years. He knew where his home was.

Dr. Bishop quickly strapped neck braces on his two patients, directed the first set of agents to carefully lift the President, and take him immediately to the fully furnished medical room. He turned his attention to the First Lady for a quick assessment. Running his hands over her arms and legs, he determined that she had no obvious fractures.

"Let me up. I just got the wind knocked out of me."

"No ma'am. Not until I check you out. You might have some unknown injuries and I think it would be advisable to just stay still until I get through with the President."

Disappointed, Abbey resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't going anywhere. "Oh hell!"

"Yes, ma'am," was the response.

After assessing the seriousness of any injuries, he made the decision that the President was his first patient and the First Lady could wait. He sprang off the floor and ran to the medical room where his primary patient waited.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Wipe this blood off. What's his blood pressure?" Although short of trained help, the Flight Surgeon demanded immediate assistance from the one available aide.

"Mr. President? Can you hear me?"

Jed could hear quite well. In fact, too well for his current state.

"Hell, yeah. Quit shouting. My head hurts." He opened his eyes for the first time since his fall.

Dr. Bishop smiled for the first time in ten minutes. If the patient could shout obscenities, then he had to be okay.

"Mr. President, you have a nasty cut on your temple. I can't find any other injuries. Please stay still while I sew it up."

"What's going on?" If the President was awake, then he was in charge.

Dr. Bishop looked at Toby and shrugged. It was certainly not his place to answer that question.

"Mr. President." Toby had the courage to speak to the dominant force in the room, even while he was lying injured. He continued. "You were hurt in our roller coaster ride. It's just a nasty wound which Dr. Bishop is going to sew up."

"Abbey. Where's Abbey?" Toby heard the edge of fear in his voice.

"She's fine, Mr. President."

"Where is she?" Toby's answer did nothing to lessen Jed's worry about his wife.

"Mr. President, I can't sew up a moving target. Can you at least hold your head still?" Dr. Bishop was a little frustrated.

"I want to see my wife."

"Once I finish this, I'll go get her. Would you please hold still?" Dr. Bishop's voice carried a sternness that the President finally heard.

Jed tried to relax. But it was hard when he wanted to make sure that Abbey was okay and a doctor was practicing his stitches on the Presidential head.

Finally, Dr. Bishop finished and gathered up his materials.

"Do you want some help to stand?"

"No. But do you have something for this headache? It's killing me."

"Yes, sir. Take two of these." Dr. Bishop held out two Advil and a glass of water. Jed gratefully took both of them without his usual squabble.

Jed stood up somewhat wobbly, but refused assistance to walk out of the room. As he left, he saw Abbey being brought in on a back board. She had the collar on her neck, but seemed to be okay.

"Hon, are you okay?"

Abbey smiled. "Yeah. I think I just got the wind knocked out of me. But the doc still wants to check me over before he lets me up. Are you okay?"

Jed touched the dressing taped to his head. "Yeah. Except for this headache, everything is working like it should."

"Go lie down and I'll be there shortly."

Jed, for once, followed her directions without argument.

Twenty minutes later Abbey joined Jed in the bedroom. Ron came in right behind her.

"Mr. President, we're two hours away from landing in Hawaii."

"Well, I'll certainly be glad to get on the ground. In fact, I might even kiss it."

"Yes, sir." Ron's lips upturned at that statement. And he left before he could break into a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Abbey, that was one hell of a ride going through that storm. Why didn't you stay buckled in?"

They were relaxing on the bed, an hour before landing.

"Well, you were throwing up your toenails and I wanted to get some medicine to help you out. And I could ask the same question, why didn't you stay buckled in?"

"I had to see about you."

"Yeah. And all it did was get us both in trouble. I agree with you. I'll just be glad to land."

Turning their head at the sound of knocking, Jed yelled, "Come in."

Ron entered the room with Colonel Hargrove behind him.

"Don't tell me there's something else."

"Yes, sir." Colonel Hargrove really dreaded this one. "During the storm, we had a hydraulic line rupture and our landing gear won't come down."

Jed shook his head. "You know, this plane cost a hell of lot of money and you're telling me that something else is broken? Could it be another bad light?"

"It could be, but I doubt it. Before I came to see you, I had the chase planes visually inspect the bottom of the aircraft and the gear is not down."

Jed sighed. "Okay, so what happens next? Do you have to land in Hawaii? Can we make it to Washington?"

"Yes, sir, we could. But considering all that has happened so far, I would feel much better stopping in Hawaii."

"Ron, what do you say?"

"I agree with Colonel Hargrove, sir. I recommend landing in Hawaii and getting off this plane. The runway will be foamed, but it will still be rough. You can't take a plane this size without landing gear and put it down gently."

"That's an understatement, Ron."

"Yes, sir."

Jed looked at Abbey, took her hand, and sighed. "Okay, where do you want us?"

"Mr. President, if you will go back to your office and wait there, it would be best. I'll be there with you and after the plane stops, I want both you and Mrs. Bartlet to follow my directions quickly and completely."

"Okay. And Colonel…"

"Yes, sir?"

"I want my money back." At least the Presidential humor was still intact. Jed only hoped he would be after this hard landing.

"Yes, sir."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Jed, this is serious, isn't it?"

Jed and Abbey were alone in his office, sitting next to each other, and anticipating the emergency landing. Ron had gone to get CJ and Toby to sit with them. Once the plane landed, Ron's responsibility would be to get the President, Mrs. Bartlet and the members of the Senior Staff off the plane as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, Abbey. I don't know that much about airplanes, but many crashes are the result of no landing gears." He was trying to make a joke.

"Jed!" Abbey grabbed his hand and leaned forward to brush his wandering hair out of his eyes. "Are we going to make it? And don't lie to me. Not now. I need the truth."

Jed looked into the green eyes of his wife for thirty-seven years. They had gone through a lot together. But it had always been him or her being injured. Rosslyn. Traffic accidents.

Never the two of them together. At the same time. But now the odds of them traveling together seemed to finally catch up with them. All those trips through the various political offices he has held, through two campaigns, through seven years in the White House and only now they were facing the danger together.

"Abbey, we'll be fine. These pilots are trained for any emergency and I'm sure that all the equipment the Air Force has in Hawaii will be in place. Hell, we might have some good luck before we land. The landing gear might see fit to come down."

"Do you really think so?"

Jed answered softly, "No."

Abbey leaned into Jed's shoulder as her eyes filled with tears. "If we die, at least we go together. I couldn't be left alone. I would die without you. But I do have one regret."

"What's that?"

"That we couldn't say goodbye to the girls. They must be out of their mind with worry by now. I know they're old enough to manage on their own, but we won't live to see any future husbands or families."

Jed had to raise her spirits somehow, but he couldn't. His own fear prevented him from comforting his wife as he knew he should. And she would see right through any false statements.

"They know we love them. They know it."

"Yeah."

"I love you, Abbey." Jed's eyes began to mist, even as he fought the emotions boiling within.

"I love you too, Jed. Thanks for thirty-seven wonderful years." Abbey had already lost the battle of the tears as they were flowing freely down her face.

A kiss, hand in hand, and each was left alone with their thoughts and their prayers.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Back in Washington, Leo and the rest of the staff gathered around the TVs in the Oval Office to watch the event. Leo had kept in touch with the girls. Zoey was coming from Georgetown to be with the gathered staff. Liz and Ellie would watch the landing from their locations.

"When was the last time you talked to my father?"

Leo turned to see how Zoey was taking all of this tension. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "It's been a couple of hours. They had engine trouble and were going to have to fly through a storm. But the Service says that everybody is fine. And Zoey, it will continue to be fine. You have to believe."

Zoey turned to him, trying not to cry. "I'm praying, Uncle Leo."

"Me too, kidoo. Me too."

With Air Force One coming in without landing gears, every piece of emergency equipment that the Air Force had at Hickam was strategically placed on the longest runway. Multiple ambulances had been requested from the city of Honolulu to stand-by in case of injuries. The base hospital had been placed on emergency status and extra personnel called in.

Foam was being spread across the runway to slow the plane down and hopefully prevent any fires from breaking out.

TV crews had placed their equipment to capture the best possible angle. All the channels would carry this landing live. There had never been a bigger story concerning the Presidency. Ninety-two people were aboard. But the world was watching for only two.

All eyes, electronic and human, searched the sky to see Air Force One. The low light of the early morning prevented seeing very far.

Everyone held their breath as the shout rang out. "There it is!"

A quick look to the west showed the injured angel coming in for the landing.

Luck had finally returned. The back landing gears were visible under the aircraft. But no one knew if they were locked. Two chase planes veered off, leaving the plane alone in the sky.

The crowd was quiet as the plane began its final approach.

Aboard the plane, the crew told the passengers to get in crash position.

In the President's office, Ron checked seat belts for the last time.

"Take off your glasses and bend your head into the pillow on your lap. And remember, when we land, follow my directions immediately. No hesitation whatsoever."

All the occupants of the office nodded their understanding of Ron's instructions.

Jed and Abbey held each other's hands tightly. No words could express the love and support that was passing through those hands at that very moment. They only hoped that they would see their children again. But if they had to die, at least it would be together. It was a chance that many couples rarely got.

Jed and Abbey looked at each other for the last time, squeezed each other's hand, and bent forward.

What Ron didn't have to tell them was to pray.

Every occupant on the plane said their own prayers to their own Higher Being.

Ninety-two people saying their own goodbyes.

Ninety-two people praying for a miracle.

And the world was praying right along with them.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Closer.

Closer.

The world continued to watch as the big 747 began to get closer and closer to the runway. As the tail section hit pavement, the pilots reversed their thrusters and raised the flaps to maximize the drag.

As the plane's tail section hit, the rear landing gear held.

The nose followed quickly, with no landing gear. The underside of the plane scraped along the pavement, intense sparks produced as metal hit concrete.

Emergency equipment raced down the runway, chasing the big jet.

Slowly, as the plane decreased in speed, the pilots struggled with all of their experience and strength to keep the plane upright and stable.

Slower.

Slower.

Finally, the plane stopped and the world waited breathlessly to see what would happen next.


	15. Chapter 15

Emergency equipment raced to the side of the plane. So far, no fire could be seen as the doors opened and the emergency chutes deployed.

Quickly, people could be seen jumping out the door and sliding down the chute. As their feet touched the pavement, they ran toward the buses sent to transport the passengers.

Where was the President? The First Lady? Surely they would be the first ones off. The Service would not take a second longer than they could to get him off the plane and away from danger.

Around the world, breaths were being held.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Soon the world exhaled in a collective sigh. A black Suburban, escorted by military police vehicles, was seen speeding away from the far side of the plane. It had to hold the two passengers that everybody needed to see.

Safe.

Alive.

The world waited for confirmation.

But no confirmation was forthcoming.

Except for one location.

In Washington, Leo picked up the ringing phone in the Oval Office. As he listened to the voice on the other end, a big grin broke across his jagged features.

"Yes, sir. I understand. You and Abbey are fine. Yes sir, thank you for calling and telling us. Yes, sir. I bet you do have some things to share. Yes, Zoey is right here. I'll call the other two right now and give them the good news."

Leo was still grinning as he handed the phone to a very anxious Zoey. "Dad?"

Leo turned to the waiting group. "That was the President. Everybody is fine. CJ and Toby were with them and as far as he knows, there were no injuries to any other passengers. And he said to tell everybody that he was taking a slow boat home."

The room laughed with relief.

THE END


End file.
